The UK market is rising in afternoon trading Thursday, led by banks and miners. Sentiment was influenced by easing of economic worries and firm cues from Asia.
Crude for October delivery is trading up $0.42 at $75.09 per barrel. December gold is adding $0.3 at $1257.8 an ounce.
In economic news, German annual consumer price inflation eased to 1% in August from 1.2% in July, a final report by the Federal Statistical Office showed. Compared with July, consumer prices remained unchanged in August, compared to the 0.3% rise in the preceding month.
In France, confirming the preliminary estimate, payroll employment increased 0.2% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, a final report from the statistical office INSEE revealed.
As expected, the Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low again and maintained the size of the quantitative easing at GBP 200 billion. At the end of the two-day rate setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to retain the interest rate at 0.5%, the lowest since the central bank was established in 1694.
Meanwhile, Australia's unemployment rate declined in August to a seasonally adjusted 5.1%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Most economists had forecast a decrease of 0.1% to 5.2%.
The FTSE 100 opened at 5,430. Despite choppy early trading, the index moved into positive territory and is currently gaining 0.78%.
Chipmaker Arm Holdings, said to be an acquisition target, continued the previous session's upward momentum and is gaining 5.3%.
Miners Xstrata, Vedanta Resources, Lonimn, Rio Tinto, Bhp Billiton, Kazakhmys, Anglo American and Antofagasta are gaining between 3.5% and 1.5%.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Standard Chartered are rising between 2.6% and 1%.
Tullow Oil is rising 2.9%, BP is adding 1.3%, BG Group is gathering 0.9% and Royal Dutch Shell is gaining 0.4%.
The losers are led by Home Retail, which is losing 4.1%. The retailer said it expects profit in the first half to drop 20%-25%.
Defense products maker BAE Systems is losing 1.5% and venture capital firm 3i Group is sliding 1.1%.
Morrison Supermarkets, which posted a lower profit in the first half, is slipping 0.8%.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is adding 0.39% and the French CAC 40 is rising 1.24%.
Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets closed in the green. Australia's All Ordinaries added 0.94%, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.82% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.71%. However, China's Shanghai Composite Index surrendered 1.44%.
In the U.S., futures indicate a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages closed slightly higher. The Dow gained 0.4%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.9% and the S&P 500 rose 0.6%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.